Notes

What the current tree read shows

  • The current WoW Forever Talents page reports a Protection tree of 16 entries: five new, nine changed, and two matching its Classic Era 1.15.9.69722 comparison table.
  • It says its Forever values come from client build 1.60.1.70009, published September 24. The names, ranks, and tooltip text are a reported client read, not a Blizzard confirmation. Open the Protection calculator comparison.
  • Cajato's Protection chapter includes a full-tree capture at 09:52. It shows Blessing of Kings marked baseline and lists Improved Devotion Aura, Improved Concentration Aura, and Blessing of Sanctuary among the talents no longer in the tree.

Blizzard's confirmed Protection design

  • Blizzard says the tree keeps the Classic row count and adds a 16-point milestone alongside 11, 21, and 31 points. Its September 13 Deep Dive recap describes Seal of Fury absorbs returning Mana, blocks returning Mana through Shield Specialization, and Swift Judgment resetting Judgment once per minute.
  • The same recap describes Templar's Bulwark as a maximum-health absorb that interacts with Forbearance, Reckoning as gaining a block trigger, and Iron Creed as adding brief damage reduction to timed Holy Strikes.
  • These design points are confirmed at the level Blizzard described them. Blizzard did not publish the rank-by-rank Protection tooltip numbers below; the exact values remain reported by the calculator or named creator demo.

Reported Protection changes from Classic

  • Redoubt: Damaging melee attacks against you have a 10% trigger chance; rank 1 adds 6% block chance and rank 5 lists 30%. Classic triggered after you suffered a critical hit; it listed 6% at rank 1 and 30% at rank 5. Cajato flags the demo's full-rank block scaling as inconsistent.
  • Precision: The current read lists 1% hit per point, up to 3%; Cajato reads the broader tooltip as covering spells and attacks. Classic listed 1% melee hit per point, up to 3%.
  • Guardian's Favor: At two points, the current read removes two minutes from Blessing of Protection and adds six seconds to Blessing of Freedom. Classic listed the same effects at two points, expressed as 120 seconds and six seconds.
  • Anticipation: The current read lists 4 Defense per point, up to 20. Classic listed 2 Defense per point, up to 10. Cajato calls the Forever maximum an estimate.
  • Improved Righteous Fury: The current read lists 2% less damage taken per point while Righteous Fury is active, reaching 6% at three points. Classic listed up to 50% more threat from Righteous Fury at three points. The 6% demo capture is marked as an estimate.
  • Shield Specialization: The current read keeps shield absorption at 10% per point and adds a block-triggered 6% maximum-Mana return, listed as a 33% chance at rank 1 and 100% at rank 3, no more than once every three seconds. Classic listed shield absorption only: 10% per point, up to 30%. The older demo display left its full-rank shield amount inconsistent.
  • One-Handed Weapon Specialization: The current calculator lists three ranks, with 3% at rank 1 and 10% at rank 3. Classic had five ranks at 2% each, for a 10% maximum. Cajato's demo says 9% for the Forever maximum, while the newer calculator lists 10%.
  • Reckoning: The current read adds an 8% per-point chance to gain an extra attack after blocking, up to 40%; a non-periodic critical hit still reaches 100% at rank 5. Classic's extra-attack trigger followed a critical hit, reaching 100% at rank 5.
  • Holy Shield: The current read lists 20% block chance for 10 seconds, 110 Holy damage per block, 20% extra threat, and four charges. Classic listed 30% block chance and 65 Holy damage, with the same duration, threat bonus, and charge count. Cajato says spell ranks are not aligned for a clean damage comparison.
  • The current read lists Toughness and Improved Hammer of Justice as matching Classic: five Toughness points still give 10% more armor from items, and three Improved Hammer of Justice points still remove 15 seconds from the cooldown.
  • Five Protection talents are listed as new: Improved Seal of Fury, Sacred Duty, Swift Judgment, Templar's Bulwark, and Iron Creed.
  • The current calculator reads Improved Seal of Fury as returning 60 Mana when Seal of Fury's absorb is fully used, with a level-based increase capped at 45%. Cajato's earlier demo says 38 Mana before the same increase; the sources do not explain the difference.
  • Sacred Duty is listed at 2% Stamina and 30 seconds of cooldown reduction per point, up to 4% and 60 seconds for Divine Shield, Divine Protection, and Templar's Bulwark. Swift Judgment clears Judgment's remaining cooldown, makes the next Judgment free, and has a one-minute cooldown in the current listing.
  • Templar's Bulwark absorbs 100% of maximum health for eight seconds and applies Forbearance for one minute. Iron Creed adds 5% Holy Strike threat per point and, while Righteous Fury is active, reduces damage taken by 2% for six seconds per point. Cajato's capture labels its last rank an estimate.

Talents outside the tree

  • The comparison page names four Classic Protection talents absent from the Forever tree: Blessing of Kings, Blessing of Sanctuary, Improved Concentration Aura, and Improved Devotion Aura. Blizzard explicitly says Blessing of Kings is baseline.
  • The community comparison labels Blessing of Sanctuary trainer-taught. The sources do not establish what happens to the two aura talents, so their absence from this tree does not confirm that their old effects became baseline.

What is still unknown

  • The Protection values are beta client readings and may change before release; Blizzard has not published rank-by-rank Protection talent corrections.
  • The current client read and the creator's earlier demo differ on Improved Seal of Fury's Mana value, One-Handed Weapon Specialization's maximum, and the scaling shown for Redoubt and Shield Specialization.
  • The maximum ranks for Anticipation, Improved Righteous Fury, and Iron Creed are identified as estimates in the creator capture.
  • The Protection tree's point-by-point layout and text are available, but the sources do not establish a best build, rotation, gear list, or stat weights.
  • Blizzard's September 24 notes update Paladin class abilities, including Holy Strike and Righteous Fury, but list no Protection talent rank correction. See the official beta notes.